California Voter Foundation President Kim Alexander praised Shelley's actions. "California's Secretary of State took an important, historic step today and turned our state away from making further investments in risky e-voting equipment."
Shelley left the door open for 10 counties using machines other than the Diebold TSX machine to have their systems recertified before November if they meet his additional security measures and provide all voters with the option to cast ballots on paper at polling places. Other requirements include a ban on electronic provisional ballots; access by the secretary of state's office to all source code used in e-voting systems; a physical security plan from each vendor and county; and posting of election results at polling places at the end of the election for public inspection.
Diebold has supplied approximately 18,000 touchscreen voting machines to several California counties; approximately 14,000 of these machines are TSX machines. "Secretary Shelley's decision today reduces Diebold's touchscreen inventory in California by 78 percent, and the overall state inventory of touchscreen machines is reduced by one-third. That's a significant reduction in the use of risky voting equipment," Alexander said.
Alexander said she anticipates California's decision will have a significant national impact. "Election officials and voters across the country are watching California closely right now. We are hopeful that other states will continue to follow Secretary Shelley's lead and enhance the security of voting systems throughout the country."
